Water and Sanitation

Water is a vital resource for life, but less than 0.1% of water on the Earth is fresh and accessible. Populations increase, economies grow, and urbanization continues, yet water supply has not kept pace. By 2030, water demand will outstrip supply by 40% globally as industry, agriculture, and consumers compete for this valuable resource. Dalberg works with governments, NGOs, businesses, and foundations to develop solutions that address the infrastructural, behavioral, and policy roots of complex, water-related problems. We enable our clients to plan, develop, distribute, and manage freshwater resources effectively to protect the lives and potential of people and our environment.

How Building A Market For Toilet Loans Can Help Fix India’s Open Defecation Woes

About a third of all rural households in the country defecate in the open. It has long been assumed that low-income families in rural India do not want or cannot afford a household toilet. New research suggests that this is not true.

Developing the Scope of a Water and Sanitation Fund

After assessing the commercial and impact investment potential of the water and sanitation market in low and middle-income countries, we recommended to Private Infrastructure Development Group the establishment of a new fund. We identified opportunities for the fund in 14 countries across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Evaluating the 2030 Water Resource Group

We conducted a strategic evaluation of the 2030 Water Resource Group (2030 WRG) and its activities to provide recommendations that guided the group’s strategic plan and the allocation of over $20 million USD to address water scarcity.

Determining the Global Potential for Water Kiosks

We conducted in-depth field research of 10 major water kiosk ventures, analyzed 4 innovative ventures and developed a market model to determine the global potential for water kiosks. We published a sector report, detailing cross-venture learnings, and recommendations for ventures and ecosystem actors.

Developing a Hygiene Intervention in Urban Schools in Mumbai

We helped a design firm develop and evaluate their hygiene intervention in government-run urban schools in Mumbai. We developed communication tools to facilitate partnerships with large multinationals that have an interest in boosting good hygiene practices among low-income communities in Mumbai.

Scaling Up the Sanitation and Safe Water for All Program

We provided strategic insights on successes, lessons learnt, and recommendations to assist the scale up of the Sanitation and Safe Water for All program, a first-of-its-kind market transformation program in the water and sanitation sector by the International Finance Corporation in Kenya.

Bringing Sustainable Sanitation Services to Towns Across India

We worked with CEPT University in India to bring sustainable and equitable sanitation services to small and medium towns in India. We worked closely with city governments and the private sector to implement a performance based contract for sanitation services.

Varad Pande

Varad is a Partner at Dalberg and co-leads Dalberg Advisors' Financial Inclusion Practice Area. He loves to work at the intersection of policy, technology and markets to drive impact. His recent work has included bringing a deep user-centric perspective to the policy agenda on themes like financial inclusion, data privacy and skilling. He has worked extensively on catalyzing technology for social good – helping set up a major public-private initiative to drive financial inclusion, and driving an AgTech strategy for a large regional government.

Impact Investment Mandate for a Family Foundation

We were the dedicated investment manager to a family foundation focused on agribusiness, renewable energy and waste management in Africa and Southeast Asia. We supported the definition of their impact investing strategy and led the execution of their investments.

Evaluating the Partnership for Cleaner Textiles Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s ready made garment sector ranks third largest in the world, bringing in 80% of the country’s export profits. However, poor use of resources is threatening the sector’s sustainability, not to mention the well-being of local communities. Water use in the Bangladeshi textile and apparel industry is three times the regional average and six times the global best practice.